Windows 8.1 Available for Download

Windows 8.1 has been available for some time now for MSDN subscribers, but today Microsoft has just publicly released Windows 8.1 for Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro users. You can get this new update through the Microsoft Store. It is packed with many updates, fixes, and tweaks that will hopefully improve the user experience. Of these changes, my favorites are:

The return of the Start button
The Start button now sports the new Microsoft logo and launches the start screen. The veteran Windows users would like to see the return of the original start menu, however, this is a welcomed improvement over the previous method where you had to put your cursor in the very bottom left corner of the screen.

The option to boot directly to the desktop
To turn on boot-to-desktop, right-click the Taskbar and choose Properties, and then Navigation. Finally, under Start screen, check the box that says “Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in.”